Caroon U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,547 describes and shows a crab picking machine in which crabs are conveyed, carapace up and head end forward, on two-part trays through three main work stations where the claws and carapace are removed (1st station), the crab is cut in approximately half lengthwise and from top to bottom (2nd station) and the meat is squeezed out through the open cut of each crab half by a roll (third station). The machine of the Caroon patent is remarkably effective in picking the crabs clean and removing the valuable back fin meat in large pieces. In the preferred embodiment, in which the trays are moved through the work station by a chain conveyor, very high throughput rates are possible. In fact, the speed capability of the machines is limited by the ability to load the crabs onto the trays, which is done manually, as the trays return to the loading station at the front of the machine. The Caroon patent is incorporated by this reference to it into the present specification.